ACROSS THE FOOTLIGHTS

Taranaki Daily News, 20 December 1930, Page 22 (Supplement)

ACROSS THE FOOTLIGHTS

COMING EVENTS , ■■■" r '■’v '■ ■ ■ . . ... -i ■■ --y .. EVERYBODY’S. ' k-- ’ tfb-night, Monday and Tuesday.—'‘Let’s , -Go Planes” (all star), Fox Movie'tone- production., ..-. _ \ I >•., (December 24 to 26.—'"Troopers Three” '. (all star), British production. • December 25. —Christmas • Day (po-pic- ' ‘ i '' lures). . (December 27 to 30.—“ Song of Soho” ■(Carl Brisson), British production. . Banuary3 to 6.-—“Rajse the Roof” (Betty Balfour), British production. ' ■ J ~ i THE regent. . ...... - ~ \ / • ' • ' ■■■ ICe-nrght, .Monday and Tuesday.—“ Song . / rifthe.West” (John Boles), Warner .■■ i, ’ Bros. alb.dialogue;- singing, , techni-. :■ 1 ' - colour,' outdoor, special production./. • JDecerilber 24 -and 20.—“ Three Sisters” ’ (all star), Fox Movietone produc.Don. Pwember 25.—Christmas Day (no pic- ’ . tures). L (December 27 io 30.—“ The Bishop Mur-. ■ - ; der Case” .(all star), M.G.M. alltalking production. r f December 31 to January 2.—“ The Flame '' of' Love” (Anna May Wong and John Longden), British . all-talking production.- ' . . OPERA HOUSE. December 26.—-Thru’ Different Eyes’ >' ‘(Mary Duncan-Edmund Lowe-War- ■ her Baxter), Fox production. December 27.—“ The Red Dance” (Chas. . Farrell and Dolores Del Rio), Fox production. ■/' - . ’ December 31.—“ Street Angel” (Janet ’ ' Gaynor-Charles Farrell), Fox special ’ January I.— “ Four .Devils” (all. star), ‘ Fox production. .. < ... ■ Januajy != 3.—“ Behind ' that Curtain” (Lois Moran-Warner Baxter-Gilbert ' sped.l proaustioß. . “LET'S GO PLACES.” ’ If .'laughter is a? tonic, as doctors as-. Bert, the audiences at Everybody’S The- <■? atre 'Should be in A healthy condition !, to-day and to-iflght. Mirth arid/inerri- : menbin large.quantitlcs 'feature“Let’s Go Places,” Fox Movietone musical ex-' .■ trayaganza, which headlines the prot • gramme-at--the local picture palace, and > :■ which is attracting many by its humour and its originality. Several spec- ; tacular ballet numbers and a- background of Hollywood show spots as well as its irresistible songsi , are' also responsible for-iniich of the film’s popularity., Joseph • Wagstaff and Lola Laue enact import-j •ant ■ ’roles .in this entertaining story of I (two adventurers iand “heir- conquest of . Jthe screen'capital, with Frank Richard- >: won, Walter Charles Judels and ' 'MkaiGhase- furnishing’: most of the com- ; (edy.t /Dixie’ Lee; add “Sharon Lynn, are - [also .represented among the co-featured. groups in this picture directed by Frank Strayer. Screenings commence at 2 and /. I.p.m/ ’’ .

. ‘ : “SONG OF THE ; WEiST.” ' “Song .of the -West,” now starring at' ’ Hhe /Regent, is a vivid romance of the' . ' (trying, days when the’world went west - in jth’e, fraritic search for gold. The i» Harvey Thew’s adaptation of th'e New. -/'[York ■ success, .“Rainbow,” by Laurence. ;/iStallings,'ahd Oscar Hammerstein U.The cast includes John. Boles,/Vivienne Segal, Joe;E: -Brown, Marie Wells, 6am. Hardy, /• (Marion Byron; Eddie Gribbon,-Ed. ~Mar.- . jtiridel; Rudolph Cameron and an- army iof / extra characters, miners, soldiers, powboys and camp hangers-on. . The : picture is taken with the Sierras as a ' (background, arid-'it is one of those plays : which is a happy, blending of fighting - iand'/fun, with a liberal sprinkling .of ’ love.' Ray. Enright directed. /? '/

‘■TROOPERS THREE.”

'A .’story of" the army without a vil- ■■ . JainU Andjnot a war picture! That is /. ’■‘Troopers Three,” the Tiffany ' allVj r- {talking production featuring 'Bex Lease, Dorothy Gulliver, Roscoe Karns and Slim; '; jSunuherville, which. <Cinepia ' Art- -Films '.' ■?.- • jar* ? releasing on Wednesday next at Everybody’s Theatre.- The hero is his ioiwM : worst enemy, being a smart- Aleck o/, jwho'.needs a lot of freshness taken out him—and it is!, The <javalry,.its work • jand.play day by day, is -tfie background - ifor’this original story by Arthur Guy -v- '•*" . "THRU* DIFFERENT EYES.”

(Something entirely new in the mat- ■ murder mystery stories comes to jtfje screen in “Thru Different Eyes,” Fox [production, directed - by John G. Bly-ptohe-i- The title is self-explanatory for iJw' . basic. theme “is the ' summary of a •murder case .as revealed through the jsyeik.df a.v prosecutor,. a' defence lawyer and-eventually a ndysterious .girl? ‘“Thru Different Eyes ” based on the. story by Milton. Gropper, ? is .the forthcoming at-? [traction at the . Opera House on Friday, next : (Boxing Night)?' Mary Duncan and" [Warner Baxter are co-featured, with the jmppbrtihg cast a very formidable one, including Gavin'.Gordon/recent recruit from the Broadway legitimate stage; Natalie Moorehead,' another stage re|eruit;- Donald? Gallaher, Sylvia Sidney *aid Florence . Like. A. H. Van Buren,' ■who ; staged many reecnt.New York snc-.-|tesses; acts in the capacity of stage dir*ctor. ' ■“THE RED DANCE.” Teamed for the first time in their jrareers, Dolores Del Rio and Charles Jarrell give a remarkable performance in the stellar roles of “The Red Dance,” Eox -feature, which comes to the Opera House on Saturday; December 27.-. Separately and together these two young people' hold, the audience spellbound by their fine .-characterisations. She •s :the peasant girl who becomes the famous ‘‘Red Dancer of the Revolution,” he as the' Grand Duke Eugen, jirhoin she tries to save from the yenjgeance of the people. Another great performance is that of Ivan Linow, the giant Russian who, as a private soldier, [Woos Del Rio, but who, when he becomes “Red” general?-saves her lover: from [the /firing squad “Tha \Red Dance” is splendid not only as an entertainment, ,-ibut .as a vivid picture of revolutionary Russia. It abounds in thrills, such as when the Cossacks are shown sweeping down on a defenceless village, the. revolt : pf the prisoners in the salt mines ■and many similar episodes. But this is not * gloomy picture. There is much humour, fine romance and much beauty of scenery in this production, which Raoul: Walsh directed-, with sympathy and taste. '■ ♦ • • * "THE DELIGHTFUL ROGUE.” Rod La Rocque turns villain to play the title role of “The Delightful Rogue the ' all-talking Radio Picture which itomcs to Everybody’s, shortly. Lastro, the -Latint-pirate, who plunders a group jrofrieai ■’aslefi with a Sflcht he has

.stolen from a millionaire, is not the sort of, pirate Howard Pyle painted or Robert Louis Stevenson put on Treasure Island. He is. a 1930 pirate in dinner clothes —a radio in his cabin—a villain who proves to bo not such a villain after all. The adventures of Lastro and his yacht “Golden Rule,” and his meeting with Hydra,-a Times Square night club queen in a tropical island dance hall, form the story of “The Delightful Rogue.” .** * * “THE THREE SISTERS.”

War plays a prominent but almost unseen part in “The Three Sisters,” the all-talking Fox' Movietone production of Italiaii peasant life which Paul Sloane directed. This apparent-contradiction is explained by the story, which' deals to a great extent with the late conflict as it affected an Italian woman and her trio of daughters, but in which actual war “scenes” are employed only briefly. Louise Dresser heads the cast in this unusual folk picture. Tom Patticola and Kenneth Mac Kenna play the. principal male parts, with Joyce Compton, June Collyer and Addie McPliail enacting the triple .title role’. Clifford Saum,. Paul I’orcasi, Sidney DeGrey, Joe Brown and John Sainpolis are included in the supporting cast. A complete. Italian village, several square blocks in extent, was designed by William Darling, Fox art director, as the background for most of the picture. • George Brooks and Marion Orth are the co-authors of the original ■' story, while Janies K, McGuinand Brooks collaborated on. the scenario and dialogue. “The Three Sisters” comes to The Regent on Wednesday and Friday next.' ' * * * . ♦ A.“THE BISHOP MURDER CASE.”

■ The plot of S. S. Van Dines thrilling and dramatic novel.. “The Bishop Murder Case,”. .' .which :. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer have made into -a'n sail-talking. picture, centresabout a series of murders starting: with that of (‘Cock Robin,” intimate of a group of scientists who live in an outlying distric of New York. After each murder there is found a jeering note written in “Mother Goose” rhyme'and signed “The/Bishop.” At,the side of each body is found a black bishop from a chess det. Philo Vance' enters into the case when he discovers- that Robin, first of; the' victims,/ was not killed by an arrow fired from a bow, but that the weapon had been driven into the man’s heart after his death. Vance, Markham and a whole bevy of detectives arc baffled and’ worried by murders which continue right under their very noses. There doesn’t seem to be a chance of finding the clever criminal until—well, it' would hardly do to tell too much about the outcome of a mystery-film. Basil Rathbone plays Philo Vance, the scientific detective. : Other players include Leila Hyams, . Roland Young, James Donlan, Zelda Sears, Charles Quaftermaine, Alec B. Francis, Carroll Nye, Sydney Bracey and Nellie Bly Baker,’ •’ . ” ; . ' ' * 1 THE SHAKESPEARE BOOM. “ UP” ENGLAND. , \ The film company which acts in this coiiStry for the distinguished Sir. Douglas Fairbanks has permitted me to . see the extent and the variety of bookings it has effected, for the Fairbanks-Pick-ford edition of Shakespeare’s “Taming of,the Shrew,” says a London journal. This production may be said, in the language of its country of origin, to have “Cleaned up” in England. Mr. Cochran ran it for’ a, season’ at the London Pavilion. He and I had a friendly debate. I felt that too much had been claimed for the picture. It was colourful, certainly; it was literal Shakespeare —although many scenes had been jumbled into a jig-saw sequence. ; . The riotous merriment of a Tudor comedy had been caught, even though the sweet resonance of the words vanished in the accents of Mr. and. Mrs. Fairbanks. The glory of Shakespeare persisted. ••■. . I am wondering now how soon we shall see the first English representation of a Shakespeare play on the talking screen. It is a fact—as I ascertained recently—, that one company, which'.already this •year. Jias made at least (wo very ..great films, has such a project under discussion. The discussions have reached a point when one party in authority wishes to make "Midsummer 1 Night’s Dream” into a film, while another wants “Othello.” Whichever play may be chosen, I can state definitely now that produ-'’ >n will begin within the next few months.',/; .-1 1

This announcement will inevitably arouse noisy remonstrance among a section of the people who exhibit . films in thia country; the people, I mean, who persistently imagine that all English people are invariably content with tho Chicago “crook” saga. It becomes necessary, therefore, to place upon record e in .of the reasons why a Shakespearian play translated to the English screen by competent Englishmen will be .a euccess in England. ~ Mr. Cochran has stated that the the-atre-going public in the West- End represents only 5 per cent, of London’s population. One imagines on looking, at the mammoth attendances at West End ci- ..nas on Saturday and Sunday evenings that they represent the remaining 95. per cent. But, in fact, only 30 per cent, of London’s population makes ..a weekly visit to the cinema. And that figure. includes the multitude of little iboys and girls who regularly throng the Saturday afternoon shows with which the managers of suburban theatres swell their profits. There is a tremendous, untapped audience awaiting the film of intelligence—as the astute promoters of “The White Hell of Pitz Paiu” have discovered.

. The .practice of making films as if the lowest degrees of intelligence and education were the average has persisted for too long. The really astute film manufacturer should now be seeking, to attract the vast company of people who never or only- rarely visit the cinema.

WEEKLY VAUDEVILLE.

A SYDNEY VENTURE.

. Vinia Deloitte, remembered for her ; good work in Gilbert and Sullivan roles , some little time ago, and also as tibe ' very young wife of the rather old Howard Vernon (since deceased), had a ) brave spirit. She 'has put down her own money for the Aeolian Hall in Pitt . Street, Sydney, for one night every, week until the end of the present year. She means to present vaudeville shows there with a change of programme every week, thereby giving work to her- . .self , and a small percentage of out-of- > work actors and actresses. They will •be co-o<ptimists and share the profits. She frequently does sketches with a ’ partner, Frederick Hughes, and retains

2ZJI— J — iiiiiiiMiiirmu'wi fwrryiww THREAT TO BOYCOTT. •. f. f ■ . , “HR FT ATN TN HANDS OF AMERDCA,” The cinema’correspondent of the LondonDiilyExpress writes.-—- . . A threat to boycott American talkies, on account of the .high prices charged, has been made by a large group of independent British cinema owners;' who,, as a class; are timid, and not easily moved to-revolt. ' This threat is never likely to materialise, for the simple reason that the most important theatres are / not associated with the protest, and it is from these theatres that American 'talkie distributors obtain. more than half .their receipts. * ; , ’ British, cinema owners • are ■so much in the grip of American film and, electrical. interests that a “strike” could o ’y end' ignominiously for them; The fact that the ‘ timid British • exhibitor has ben moved; to threaten liis American masters affords convincing proof of the prophecy, definitely made by me that American, talkies would slump before the autumn. _ Cinema 'owners outside the large circuits have sustained enormous ’losses, chiefly owing to the system of' 'guarantee which American, distributors have ■been able to impose.' on. them. ’ ~ Under this, system the . theatre owner is compelled-to sign a contract to pay to the American distributor.. half, .or more, of the theatre’s takings, and also to guarantee a substantial sum whether the film is successful or not. _ This iniquitous system, only possible, while America had an absolute monopoly, is’ the crux of the ■ protest; made by the group , of independent; theatre owners associated with the ’'boycott” threat.-.. ... . ..... . If they succeed in compelling American distributors to abolish the “guarantee against loss”' system, it will, be for the extremely significant reason that, simultaneously with' the decline' in favour of. American talkies, there has'been an undoubted riser in the popularity of British talkies. It is a fact that British talkies in the provinces are enjoying what could be called a boom. ' • . ’

• That .phenomenon would 1 not be noticeable In London, because in London nearly all .the. important theatres are American-owned, or under .American control, and' British talkies, are not featured, but in the. provinces they are playing to increasing business, and. the fact has not beeh overlooked by. watchful American distributors. / ; Ore .of these, 1 .! the . Metro-Goldwyn company, owners of the 1 Enipire 'Theatre, have booked" a British talkie, “The ‘W’ Plan;”' for presentation- as their feature film, thus being the first Ameri-can-controlled theatre to display a British talkie. -- 1 ’ .;/ ; . - I cannot , say that the boom in British talkies is wholly justified, though there are at least a dozen which fully; ri. .1 all but . the most, elaborate American talkies, but I can, understand ■that . British cinema audiences, tired of the American voice,, anti the' restricted plots of American. talkies, are turning •with a sense/ of relief and: novelty' to

the British product. . ; . . < <' One British talkie, produced for Jess than £>2oo, has been booked to more than £30,000. “White Cargo” has booked for more than'£Bo,ooo. . i -.- : ■/.

“Loose Ends”, will , gross at least five times-as much as its cos£, not including what it may .earn, in the. United States, and the proportion in the case of “Young Woodley” may exceed “Loose

Ends.” '■ 1 '/■• Some of the early British talkies, especially those salvaged from silent films, have registered losses, but all the genuine talkies are playing to excellent business, which, in the case of “Atlan x: c,” fot example, will show a ,profit of at least £150,000, apart from the possibility of an American release. ~ .

AMERICA IN ENGLAND.

SYMPTOMS OF JUMPINESS.

Reports are renewed of the f orthcom-. Ing extension to England of American film-making activities. This time it is stated that Adolph Zukor, on. behalf of Paramount-Fam ous-La,sky Corporations of New York, has acquired from British and Dominions Films Corporation . the right to use one of the latter’s ‘'sound stages” at Elstree. Mr. Zukor is said to have paid £300,000 for the privilege,and it is further . estimated that the money which his concern will, expend in this country on production will amount. to at least £10,000,000’. iri/ten . years. Opice again the eyes of British aspirants to a place in the film firmament are ‘being dazzled by the promise of “a Hollywood within a few. miles :of London, a new city of busy thousands, of huge studios and luxury villas peopled with famous stars and directors making films for the world.” Paramount .(.which, by the way, has secured the distribution rights, in “The School ;for Scandal”) is also stated to. project the building of a chain of fifty or more cinema?, throughout the:.United Kingdom, ithus, entering , the ordinary exhibitors’ market here in ..competition with the .two; big existing circuits controlled by the Gaumont-British and Associated British companies, which together have about 400 theatres. Almost concurrently an announcement is made or the formation of a new British combine with a capital of £1,500," 000 to take over ten existing firms for production purposes, and to construct new cinema houses. This combine is to be known as ,the “Empire Building Manufacturing and Kinema Corporation, Ltd.” Captain Geoffrey Malins, described as an explorer, is the spokesman of the Combine.' > ’ . . Notwithstanding all these . and other re ons for optimism, the British cinema industry at the present moment is.showing symptoms of ‘'jumpiness.’ Midget golf is looming like a black cloud on the, horizon. Owners of cinema houses are •being urged to protect themselves by set-i ting up dwarf courses -whenever there: is space available; and Sir Gordon Craig, the “first cinema knight,” appears as’ m'-iaging director of a company to con-; struct them.

REGINALD TATE IN LONDON.

SKETCH AT COLISEUM,

Writing from London to Mrs. Dorothv Tobin, the playwright in Sydney, Mrs. Reginald-Tate, wife of the actor, who played Captain Stanhope in “Journey’s" End,” in Australia and New Zealand, says she and her husband have found it'difficult to take up the normal threads of life after having .been away so long. Mr.,Tate had been playing at the London Coliseum with Phyllis Neilson Terry in a romantic sketch but was then going to Bristol. - ‘ Mrs: Tate says it is very hard to find a suitable flat in. London, the prices being enormous. “Mansion’’ flats start at £250 a year, and in many cases there is a huge premium. “I have a great longing to see Australia again,” writes Mrs. Tate. _ I have a picture 4 -of a dear little native bear always standing on my bedro’om mantelpiece.” Oh. their wav back to England, Mr. and Mrs. Tate visited China and Japan, crossed Canada, and-then went to Iceland.

FATHER OF THE CINEMA. . ). —. ■ . MEMORIAL SCHEME. ! /' V - . ’* / Plans are well advanced for suitably marking in Leeds the- fact that in that city was born the cinema industry. More definite, however, is the object of the organisers to do honour to the memory of • Louis Anne Auguistin Le Prince, the Frenchman who settled in the northern city and there produced the first, apparatus. A memorial fund appeal has, been issued, and has already met with such striking success that the fulfilment of its purpose is no longer in doubt. The convener and honorary secretary of the movement, Mr. E- Kilburn Scott, M.lnfit.E.E., said something about the work and the personality of this, lougforgotteu pioneer. Le Prince was born at Metz in 184-2, the son of an officer in the French army. Daguerre, who was a .great- friend of his father, taught Le prince as a lad the elements of photography, and while he was a student in Paris he met an English girl studying art under Belle.use. She was.:a daughter of Mr. Joseph Whitley, a clever Leeds engineer, ■ and after they were married her brother,. Mr. John R. Whitley, invited Le Prince to make his home there, and continue his photographic/ work. In 1866 Le Prince and." his wife did so, and for four years the ,'ihyfentor 1 had a workshop at 160, Wbodhqtise Lane., Here, in 1888, he photographed the, first animated pictures „ ever ma,de with 1 a single lens camera at twenty -pictures per second. Then he .alsq. showed-the first pictures bn a screen with a .projecr? tor having electric 'arc lamp illumination. • It is. on the walls of tips building, . by permission of Captain E. G- F,; Ferreiya, that a memorial tablet, recording Le Prince’s occupancy, is to'be put: up. The design,’ which measures about two feet by two and a half .feet, is decorateq. with the fleur-de-lys. for his native France; the white' rose for Yorkshire; and the Leeds coat-of-arms, and it will shortly be unveiled'by the Lord Mayor of the city. -. 1 '• - - “In the ’seventies,” Mr. Wilburn »cott aaid, “Mr. and Mrs. Le Prince founded the first technical school of. applied art in Leeds, arid apart from the erection of the tablet, Mr. Ricketts, Curator of the Leeds City Museum, is to exhibit pljptographic, ceramic,, enamel, and othei artistic work carried-out at the school. A good many examples have “ecP; promised, and Miss Le Prince: is .expected to send from New York the moving picture camera which her father made in Deeds forty-two years ago. , Afterwards, by arrarigement with Colonel Sir Henry Lyons F.R.S., it .is hoped to exhibit the camera and other Le Price relics in the-National Collection at South Kens--ington. . “I might add that, by the happiest coincidence, the first real school foi training moving-picture operatort? was established in Leeds, and its pupils are now spread all over the world, a -great number of them being at work, in the United States.” . Le Prince’s end, by the way, was a mysterious one. He disappeared 1 completely in the summer of 1890, and no trace has'ever been found of, him.

“JOURNEY’S END.”

ITALIANS PUZZLED.

“Journey’s' End” has arrived in Rome at last, after many rumours of Fascist censorship, and at ite first performance it met with considerable applause and much incomprehension, says the Man Chester Guardian. Audience and . critics Were left cold by the first part of/‘the play. The school, ties binding a small group of .officers and Raleigh’s heroworship for? Stanhope were altogether too foreign- to . raise anything but patient attention. In the last .act the audience became really enthusiastic and it all began' bv their seeing 'irotter s jokes and liking Mason’s cooking. Onq wondered, of course, why Stanhope wore a black tie, why all the boots were bright yellow, why all the men had spotted white handkerchiefs, which were used 1 very frequently; above all, why all the drinking scenes were so Bacchic that a British captain in that

permanent condition would long ago have been dismissed the service and his fellow-officers been , quite incapable, of the, big attack after the great orgy in the last act. / . ' The audience was amazed by all this, and [ I sympathised with a mail behind me who murmured, “Whisky wins the day.” Much.of this, overacting wan due to Signor lambert Picasso, . who .produced the play and took the part., of Stanhope. He is known on, the London stage as a very able interpreter of Pirandello. He was in excellent Piyandellian form,■battling with his two of three • selves while?, the English', -public schoolboy faded into the background. He chose rf his fellow-actors well. Signdr Olivieri as Asborne gave a very fine piece of acting. The parts of Raleigh, Hibbert, and Trotter were also extremely well done. It is a pity that, by a too-extrayagant liepresentation/; a general impression is given of cowardice—rather/than of fear —overcome. In general the play was welcomed for the breath of fresh air that it brings into the steel-laden atmosphere of modem Italy. “It is defeatist, which is one reason more for liking it,” writes the Messagero, but “the 1 truth is,” says the< Tevere, “it is English, , and ,the? Italian actor finds- it difficult to clothe himself in the psychology and manner of the E nglishman.” " ‘

• It is too-difficult, and. if! “The Great Voyage,” as it. is called ■ here, was successful, it was for other reasons. The-theatre was crowded and promises to be so for the .next fortnight, which ds'-the- limit that a successful play may hope-to reach in Rome. Signor Picasso will then tour Italy with the play. One hopes that he will get the sound production machine improved. There was whistling of shells without explosions, ■and explosions- without warning,’and the dug-out fell in befo're the shell exploded near’it.: , i .

GEORGE. MOORE’S PLAY.

A REMARKABLE THEORY.

Mr. George Moore’s play, “The Passing of the Essenes” (produced .recently, at the Arts Theatre, London), is based upon a legend that Jesus did not die upon the Cross, but that Ha was revived in the tomb by Joseph of Arjmathaea—that He was not divine, but a, preacher inspired by God. When the play opens He is a shepherd of fiftythree. Up the precipitous hillside to the cav -n of this little' group comes Paul of Tarsus, fleeing from persecution and seeking succour. Paul is filled with missionary fervour and the central incident of the play is the disclosure that Jesus the Shepherd before him was crucified on the judgment of Pilate. Paul’s zeal and ’his belief, however, remain unquenchable. He reasserts his faith in the Jesus who, was the Son' of God and before he departs has a; frosh tri-umph-in the conversion of most of the small community. The play implies such an atack ’upon fundamental articles of belief that it requires a definite detachment to consider it from the dramatic point of view. The audience listened in rapt silence te> the production.

HOLIDAY IN HOLLYWOOD. | i , 1..' MEETING THE MOVIE STARS. The following- extracts are made from a, letter received by “Fra Diavplo,” of the Waikato Times, from a New York friend, who has just spent a holiday in California-. “When in Hollywood I saw loads of movie people, mostly on the streets and in the restaurants. In Universal City . I had the pleasure of going through a portion of the Universal Studios. “The visits to studios are now almost, taboo, due to the talkies, and the companies cannot, or dp not, take < the trouble of having, visitors on the sets. Quietness is now the great god of the movies. The talkies are responsible for that. . 1 “I had the pleasure of meeting Lewis Ayres, the young fellow who made such a tremendous hit in the leading role in ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ and in ‘Common Clay.’ In the latter Lewis plays the part of the wealthy son. He is immense in the role,, and seeing him in that and in the. war film and a few other things, and then meeting him in person, has swept him into the top-most position among, my new favourites. He is a. chariping 1 fellow, and his success has.not'-spoiled. 1 him. Did you know that he was a .crooner of “blues” songs before 'entering the movies 1 “I also saw Rod La Rocque and Gloria Swanson.- Gloria’s striking appearance really does not’ receive justice on the screen. ;■/’ .■■ ■ ‘'l" -saw those t two nuts—Robert Woolsey . and Bert' , Whgeler—of ‘The Cuckoos’ fame. 'They’re just ,as nutty off the screen as on. Jackie Coogan made a personal appearance at a Los Angeles- theatre while I was-there. “Hollywood, of course, is greatly overrated. It is apt to! be a, disappointment ,to dyed-in-the-wool movie fans who go there the first- time. It is just an ordinary place, at;• least, that is the impression, I got. ■■/. . . ’ ■ “One of my -keenest disappointments while'in the west'was that I had nd opportunity to’ see Clara ; Bow. ; Not that I really admire her much, ; but I did want to get a look at; America’s* most famous flapper.! “There was aiidther disappointment,, too,-although I. was prepared for that. I had hoped that I might have been able to meet Buddy Rogers again •on this trip, but he is now in Europe-- ~ left here early in; October with his mother and is due in New York about the end of this month? Out; west there are whispers that Buddy isn’t going-over so big any more, and that he Jias reached the peak of his careel and will probably make a different type of film from now on. They say lie ha.s been sweet just once too often in pictures and that from now on he will play roles that arc not so ‘cute’ as those in the past. I don’t care, I like/Buddy in anything he does’., ‘ ; “.‘Buddy’s’ brother, Bruce, is about to begin a film ; career. I saw the Rogers’ home,' which is a show place down there. It’s Buddy’s, and he has brought his. father and mother and brother from Olathe, Kansas, to live with 1 him in the new home. His father was editor and publisher of a paper in Kansas, but has now retired. Had it.not been for the movies Buddy might now be a newspaper man. ‘“rtiere is one thing about California that, is not over-rated and that is the weather. I found ,it delightful. The days’* were warm and bright and the nights cool enough to enjoy blankets for covering. There is quite a bit of business depression there,, as everywhere in.this country at present. I think, though, that that is general .throughout the world, isn’t it? “There are thousands of youna folks walking the streets in California’s movie centres waiting for a break to get into pictures. And most of them are doomed to disappointment. The market is glutted with talent. 1 ' : ? “It is harder now than ever to break into films, but Hollywood and the other centres continue to attract people, youmr folk and old folks, from all parts of the country and from many parts of the world, who dream of a career in pictures. / “My trip 1 to Mexico was one of the real highlights of my journey, but here, too, there was a disappointment. I did not see a bull-fight—and I did so want to see one!. Mexico, of course, is very Spanish still, but it is becoming more and more Americanised year after year. The capital city 1 is vibrant with life, boasts some beautiful streets, buildings, clubs,- has an excellent opera house and. splendid musical attractions and night clubs galore. “I went to hear a symphony during the Sunday afternoon I• was in Mexico, and we attended an operatic performance' of ‘Carmen.’ > The performance,however, was not on a par with the way/’-the Chicago Civic Opera stages the Bizet opus.

“HITS” THAT “FLOP.”

A DIFFERENT TASTE. I

News comes from New York of the immediate “flop” of “Marigold,” which was a tremendous success in England. (Incidentally all the Shubert importations from? London except “On the Spot” have gone clown.) . “Marigold” is yet another addition to the long line of plays which, immensely popular.-in their-own country, have failed elsewhere. “A Little Bit of Fluff,” which ran countless, months in England, was a,terrible “flop”' in New York. So was “Yellow Sands.” So was “The Maid of the Mountains.” So very recently was “Jew Suss.” . _ American “hits” which have failed in England have been “The Fortune Hunter,” “The Music Master,” “The Boomerang,” • “Strong Heart,” “Abie’a Irish Rose,” “Arizona,”. “Kick In,” and “Rio', Rita.”

Molnar plays, immensely popular on the Continent and' also usually successful in New York, have almost invariably failed in London—witness “Lilliom,” “The Play’s the Thing,’’.and “The Lifeguardsman.” Big French successes which ha ve done little or no good' in London have been “The Beautiful Adventure” (called in London ‘‘Wild Thyme”), “Doctor Knock,” “Le Roi” (which failed miserably with a big production at His Majesty’s), and “The Grand Duchess.” And now comes “Topaze,” which, to put it mildly, is not repeating its Parisian or. other triumphs. And “The Man 1 Killed,” another big Paris hit, never got closer to London than Streatham Hill. The English .and French mentalities ar® poles apart, and.l begin to think that the breach between the tastes of London and New York is widening daily. Play-producing is indeed a risky game. SPINSTER . GOES GAY. LOUISE FAZENDA’S COMEDY. The advantage of talking pictures as a medium for comedy is strikingly demonstrated in. .“Loose Ankles,”.a. First National and Vitaphone picture. “Loose Ankles” is everything a comedy should be. It is bright, clever, sparkling, and rich-in. incidents that produce continuous laughter. Loretta Young and Douglas ' Fairbanks ,junr.„ display a charming and heretofore unsuspected flair for comedy in this picture, while Louise Fazenda gives an inimitable performance of an elderly spinster- who temporarily goes gay. '